Eclecticeel, Calling Paul a homosexual? Really? Upon what do you base your evidence? There is nothing he writes, or does with his life, that would suggest this was true. He was a person who went around persecuting Christians until he had an encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, at which point he went on to become one of the most ardent supporters of Christians and Christianity that has ever lived, so much so that a large portion of the New Testament consists of letters he wrote to different churches in different cities that were getting established in that part of the world. That is the Paul of the New Testament. He also did some extensive traveling, once again in service to the Lord, visiting areas and sharing the good news (gospel). He served the Lord for the rest of His life, and, in fact, died a martyr. If he were a homosexual, why would he have so ardently served the Lord? Why did he not rebel and decide to do what he wished? He was never forced into his life of service; he chose it. So I do not think you are basing what you have said about him on very sound judgment, neither do I think you have thought through all of the implications such a statement would have for the life of service he chose, as well as for his very public, and, once again, chosen ministry. Paul was a servant of the Lord who sought to spread the Word and to encourage the newly established churches,as well as those he sent out into the mission field, as it would be called today. It might behoove you to learn more about him before you make such statements about him.

Frankzzzz, although I'm not sure that the use of profanity was a necessity in getting your point across, you do, in fact, make very many excellent points. I am taking a philosophy course in college right now, and much of what you say is exactly what I have been thinking, and for the same reasons. That is why, in all of my posts, I have avoided the exact thing that you point out is appearing so much in these posts--the hate and the bigotry and the attitude of superiority. There seems to be a general overall attitude that Christians are all to be lumped into one group of haters and nut-cases. I really appreciate the content of your post. It is unfortunate that dialogue such as you speak of is difficult to attain, let alone maintain, but,as you point out, there is much attacking that goes on without too much truly thoughtful debate. I have read the New Testament several times, and just recently completed a study of the entire Bible. I know well the character of Jesus, as illustrated in the Word, and so when attacks are made against Him, or God, or the Word, I can definitely see that the attackers really are attacking out of ignorance and are making assumptions, and, as you said, they are parsing out verses of the Bible to suit their points of view/purposes. And your explanation of why Christians are no under Old Testament law, as well as why the law was written in the first place, as well as the fact that there are things in the Bible that were written specifically for the Nation of Israel, are excellent and make quite clear why the problem with using OT law to attack NT Christians is problematic. And the point you bring up about legalism, and the fact that that is the wrong way to approach this topic, is an excellent one, too. I may not entirely agree with every single thing you've said, but, overall, you've done an excellent job of fairly presenting the Christian, Biblical, perspective, as well as fairly dealing with the hypocrisy of many of the posters. Thank you!

Sargon Bighorn, I am not, first of all, a man. And the fact that you tell me I am not the loving person I think I am amazes me, because you do not know me and you know nothing about me. I would not judge the level of your ability to love based on your post, as I do not know you, or anything about you. The Lord wants us to love others for Him, with His love. That is what I desire to do. It is the best love there is. It is called agape love. So when you say we are under God's love, and that men show no such love, I am wondering how you can possibly know that that is true of every person. I am person who is considered to be very loving, caring, compassionate and empathetic. I go out of my way to help others, to show concern for their physical and emotional welfare, and I give of myself to them to bless them and to glorify God. Now, if you have an argument with that, then I say, once again, that since you do not know me, or anything about me, it would be very difficult for you to dispute what I am saying. But, most of all, being a Christian is not a religion, it is about a relationship, about having a relationship with God and His Son. That relationship is the most important one in my life, now and always.

mykoolaid58, I'm not sure what you mean by "strange voice". However, what strikes me is the fact that you choose to mock the tone of what I have written, rather than to deal with the content. Since I am not attacking anyone, or mocking anyone, or calling anyone names, but, instead, just carrying on a reasoned discussion, it seems as though you are resorting to this mockery because you really cannot respond in any other manner that would have any impact on the substance of what I said. I have been a Christian, saved by the grace of God, for over 42 years. In that time, I have done a lot of things that were wrong, as in I've sinned against God plenty of times. The only difference is that the shed blood of Jesus, and my willingness to ask God to forgive me, and my willingness and desire to mean what I've said, and my willingness to stop repeating the same sin over and over, are what make God's forgiveness a reality to and for me. As I said, I am no better or worse than anyone else, and sin is sin. So mocking me does not change these facts; neither does it change my security in who I am and in my relationship with the Lord. You may mock me all you wish; I know what I have with Him and who I am, and who I am in Him. And BTW, you have no idea who I am. Have you not considered the fact that you may be attacking someone who is a highly regarded professional, and highly educated? It is unwise to be mocking that which you apparently do not understand, either. Now, regarding Tim1584's most recent post, thank you, Tim, for a very reasoned and sound posting that answers an attack on Jesus with the truth, letting the words of Jesus speak for themselves. Seattlefaith, I encourage you to persevere, and to know that God is with you, and as long as you are doing as He would have you to do, that He will bless all that you do. Kiminportland, you are misreading what Seattlefaith is saying. He is not complaining about the persecution; he is acknowledging it as being part and parcel of what happens to one who truly chooses to serve the Lord. And his comments are made out of love. My thinking is that you are choosing to overlook the fact that when he writes of the truth, he means that Jesus died for our sins, if we do not accept the free gift of salvation and repent of our living in a consciously sinful manner that is in open defiance to God and His love for us and His word, then those of us who CHOOSE not to accept the gift of Christ's dying for our sins on the cross will go to hades, hell, be cast into the lake of fire, take your pick, they all mean the same thing, and all mean eternal separation from God. And it is we, because God has given us all free will and freedom of choice, that make the choice as to whether we will spend eternity with God, or spend eternity separated from Him. As I said early on in this post, I've been a Christian for many years, and have had a long time to learn what all of this means. So if you wish to call it a fairy tale or to mock me, or whatever your form of denial may take, be my guest. It changes nothing for me, at all. I am convinced of the truth of God's love for me and of Christ's death on the cross being a very real and necessary thing, as well as His resurrection. And nothing you or anyone else says about what I have said, or in judgment of what the Bible does or does not, or may or may not, say, or what you may say in judgment of Jesus, or God, will change this.

myloolaid58, I'm not sure what you mean by "strange voice". However, what strikes me is the fact that you choose to mock the tone of what I have written, rather than to deal with the content. Since I am not attacking anyone, or mocking anyone, or calling anyone names, but, instead, just carrying on a reasoned discussion, it seems as though you are resorting to this mockery because you really cannot respond in any other manner that would have any impact on the substance of what I said. I have been a Christian, saved by the grace of God, for over 42 years. In that time, I have done a lot of things that were wrong, as in I've sinned against God plenty of times. The only difference is that the shed blood of Jesus, and my willingness to ask God to forgive me, and my willingness and desire to mean what I've said, and my willingness to stop repeating the same sin over and over, are what make God's forgiveness a reality to and for me. As I said, I am no better or worse than anyone else, and sin is sin. So mocking me does not change these facts; neither does it change my security in who I am and in my relationship with the Lord. You may mock me all you wish; I know what I have with Him and who I am, and who I am in Him. And BTW, you have no idea who I am. Have you not considered the fact that you may be attacking someone who is a highly regarded professional, and highly educated? It is unwise to be mocking that which you apparently do not understand, either. Now, regarding Tim1584's most recent post, thank you, Tim, for a very reasoned and sound posting that answers an attack on Jesus with the truth, letting the words of Jesus speak for themselves. Seattlefaith, I encourage you to persevere, and to know that God is with you, and as long as you are doing as He would have you to do, that He will bless all that you do. Kiminportland, you are misreading what Seattlefaith is saying. He is not complaining about the persecution; he is acknowledging it as being part and parcel of what happens to one who truly chooses to serve the Lord. And his comments are made out of love. My thinking is that you are choosing to overlook the fact that when he writes of the truth, he means that Jesus died for our sins, if we do not accept the free gift of salvation and repent of our living in a consciously sinful manner that is in open defiance to God and His love for us and His word, then those of us who CHOOSE not to accept the gift of Christ's dying for our sins on the cross will go to hades, hell, be cast into the lake of fire, take your pick, they all mean the same thing, and all mean eternal separation from God. And it is we, because God has given us all free will and freedom of choice, that make the choice as to whether we will spend eternity with God, or spend eternity separated from Him. As I said early on in this post, I've been a Christian for many years, and have had a long time to learn what all of this means. So if you wish to call it a fairy tale or to mock me, or whatever your form of denial may take, be my guest. It changes nothing for me, at all. I am convinced of the truth of God's love for me and of Christ's death on the cross being a very real and necessary thing, as well as His resurrection. And nothing you or anyone else says about what I have said, or in judgment of what the Bible does or does not, or may or may not, say, or what you may say in judgment of Jesus, or God, will change this.